MUMBAI: Tata Salt, one of the most trusted and loved brands in the country, through an innovative form of salt art paid rich tributes to the nation’s heroes while calling for support to Indian athletes in the Asian Games that started on 18 August in Jakarta.

Celebrating India’s progress since independence, laurels in sports and commemorating India’s 72nd Independence Day, the salt art artistically encapsulates India’s growth story by highlighting a few of its defining moments.

What makes this initiative special is the connect between the magical art and the brand through the usage of salt metaphor ‘Namak Ke Waastey’. The rendition of these remarkable milestones was carried out using Tata salt by artist Nandakishor Nana Tatar.

The salt art video tagged as #NamakKeWaastey has already garnered over 2 million views on Facebook and YouTube in a day. It has received over 7k tweets and was trending at number 1 spot nationally on Twitter on 15 August. It was also shared by Mary Kom, Indian Olympic boxer and Geeta Phogat, a freestyle wrestler who won India's first ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 on their social handles.

The video begins with the iconic speech of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and proceeds to highlight critical moments like the green revolution, wars, the launch of Aryabhata, and the nation’s achievements in sports. The salt art tribute was not only about reminiscing India’s glorious past, but also urging the nation to come together and support the Indian athletes participating in the upcoming Asian Games #NamakKeWaastey

Tata Chemicals head of marketing for consumer product business Sagar Boke says, “Tata Salt is widely christened as “Desh Ka Namak”. Reaching over 6 million households, Tata Salt has always been a harbinger of societal progress. Over the years, the brand Tata Salt has carved a very strong proposition for itself. Basis this proposition and the history of Tata Salt brand, the brand purpose of Tata Salt is simply stated as ‘unlock the individual potential to unlock nation’s performance.’ This purpose has been a driving force for all the activities we take up. Through this unique salt art, we urge the nation to come together and support the Indian Athletes participating in the upcoming Asian Games.”

The video has been conceptualised and developed by Ogilvy, Mumbai.